West Jefferson Coach Marcus Scott 'just trying to put it all together'

It has been an offseason of rebuilding for West Jefferson Coach Marcus Scott. In addition to graduating star wide-receiver Ronald Lewis to Arizona State, the Buccaneers also had to bid farewell to tight end Draper Riley (Southern Miss) and cornerback Parry Nickerson (Tulane), while ULL secured tackle D’Aquin Winthrow and wide-out Devin Scott.

Losing a host of seniors to Division-I programs proves the Buccaneers are doing something right, but it also leaves a bevy of unsettled issues at key positions. The Bucs return only four starters from last seasons’ team, which loss to Jesuit in the bi-district round of the playoffs.

If Wednesday’s cross-town scrimmage against East Jefferson was any indication, West Jefferson is still in need of some answers. The scrimmage featured several new faces, and with new players come growing pains.

“We're a young group and we're just trying to put it all together,” said Scott. “The (players) are feeling some pressure to be as good as those other guys but they really shouldn't be. They need to just make sure they're taking care of (their) business by doing what they need to do and not worry about living up to other peoples' hype or expectations...”

In the first scrimmage of the year, East Jefferson seemed to be in control for much of the outing, forcing three turnovers from the Buccaneers.

“We had some mistakes out here today, but we're going to watch the film and try to get better—we'll make our corrections,” said Falkins, who transferred schools in the wake of an unexpected family tragedy late last season when he played with the Rams.

“My mom passed around the third round of the playoffs (last year) when we played Evangel, so I just wanted to move closer to my family,” Falkins added.

Coach Scott loves what he has seen of Falkins so far and isn’t too concerned with the up-and-down play he witnessed from his team during the scrimmage.

“(Falkins) can do it all, so we just have to get it to him and other guys have to step up around him,” he said. “We also wanted to be as ‘vanilla’ as possible today (and not give away our plays), so it’s going to take some time but we’ll be alright.”

Notes: West Jefferson junior defensive lineman Louis Wings did not play in the scrimmage due to an ankle injury. This matchup between East Jeff and West Jeff was, surprisingly, the first ever preseason meeting between schools.